One parent, Fleur Finlayson, said she applied for a SA Health permit on Tuesday under the newly introduced category of "boarding student".

She hopes the special consideration makes the approval process faster, but had concerns about whether anything would be different under the new rules.

"I think it is a great step forward, however, the process at this stage is still identical. You still have to put forward an SA Health permit to allow you to get a South Australian police permit.

"We have put ours in and are hoping that this allows us to get free access to travel with her and for her.

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"I did that last night, and I haven't had an email come back. If that process still takes four weeks to come through, then we are in no better position than when we were originally."

Under the code, which was passed in National Cabinet on Friday, boarding school students will be granted a travel exemption for movements inside and across state lines.

Ms Finlayson lives on a property on the South Australian border near Serviceton, and farms on both sides of the border.

Her daughter started her first year of boarding school in 2021, at Adelaide's Seymour College.

Ms Finlayson said despite crossing the border on a weekly basis for work and medical care, border restrictions had impacted their ability to see their daughter.

"It has been quite challenging. At the moment, if we wanted to go to Adelaide we need an SA Health permit, and they take up to four weeks to get.

"She also played hockey this year. As a mum, if something were to go wrong with her on the hockey field I can't get to Adelaide to be with her. That is quite a big issue when you have got children in Adelaide playing sport and you want to be a part of that."

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She said navigating around restrictions to see her daughter had taken its toll on both of them.

"We have had many a moment together on the phone. We Facetime regularly so we can see her face. That has been a rather large moment for her but she has coped, she has managed. But kids at boarding schools shouldn't be made to just manage and cope.

"I think boarding school kids have been an afterthought in all this process and SA Health is taking far too long with their permits."

At the border, people covered by the code will need to produce a valid border permit, identification and confirmed place of primary residence, and evidence of application of the code, such as a letter from the school.

People covered by the code will also be required to carry an appropriate face mask and hand sanitiser, and maintain a record of their movement and contacts.

Effective self-isolation will be required during breaks for accommodation purposes or when not traveling.

Simon Heuzenroeder lives on a property near Mildura and has two sons, in year 12 and year nine, attending boarding school in Adelaide.

He said it had been a "battle" to meet the necessary requirements to see his sons.

"Hopefully, the national code that was passed on Friday gives a clear direction on how to treat it all, but we need South Australia to grab onto that and adapt it," he said.

Earlier in the year, Mr Heuzenroeder was turned back from the South Australian border after attempting to bring a car to another family on the South Australian side for his sons to use on school holidays.

"We thought if they were going to be stuck the least we could do was get a car to them so they can get in the car and go and see friends and do what we would have normally done with them," he said.

"We lined up a family in South Australia who was going to come to the border and drive the car back to them in Adelaide."

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Despite not crossing the border, Mr Heuzeroeder was told to head home by South Australian police, who were concerned the car could be carrying traces of COVID-19.

Mr Heuzenroeder said the experience made him realise how difficult establishing face-to-face contact with his sons would be.

"You just feel hopeless as parents, because you think you can't help," he said.

"The holidays are this Friday, and we still haven't heard back from SA Health. I am doing applications again in their system. We can't say to the kids come home - they might not be able to get back in again."

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